Child hostages had burn marks after returning from Gaza to Israel, report says

Two children held hostage in Gaza after the October 7 Hamas attack were found to have burn marks after they returned to Israel, with one saying it was the result of deliberate branding.

The shocking detail is contained in a report on the abuse and deprivation suffering by hostages, which is due to be submitted this week by Israel’s Ministry of Health to the United Nations’ special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Alice J Edwards.

Two minors were forced to perform sexual acts on one another and sexually abused by their captors, the Times of Israel reported — a detail, it said, was contained in the Hebrew version of the report but not its English edition.

Israel compiled the information from hostages exchanged in a deal with Hamas a year ago or subsequently rescued from captivity.

According to the English language report, two children reported that “they were held bound and were beaten throughout their captivity”.

Two young children “had burn marks on their lower limbs. One child stated that the burns were the result of a deliberate branding with a heated object,” the Ministry of Health report stated.

“Women, men, and children who returned from captivity reported that they endured severe physical and sexual abuse, such as beatings, isolation, deprivation of food and water, branding, hair-pulling, and sexual assault,” it said. “Additionally, some of them reported that the captors sexually assaulted them or forced them to undress.”

Some hostages were “denied medical treatment for acute injuries caused during October 7 and subsequently, in addition to for untreated chronic conditions. Fractures, shrapnel wounds, and burns were treated inadequately, leading to complications which required additional surgeries, that could have been prevented with proper care.”

In one case, it said, a hostage died from untreated medical complications.

Half of the returned hostages described “being deliberately starved during their captivity. They were given a poor diet, which often led to hunger that worsened over time.”

But before their release, their captors tried to improve their appearance and weight by giving them extra food.

The poor quality of food and water, “combined with unsanitary conditions, led to increased morbidity among the hostages,” the report said.

“Solitary confinement, poor sanitation, severe medical neglect, lack of sleep, starvation, sexual abuse, violence, threats, and brainwashing through media designed to break their spirit and make them submissive.”

Some endured “beatings, humiliation, and verbal, physical, and sexual violence” while being transported from Israel to Gaza.

Some witnessed the killing of other captives, “further deepening their sense of helplessness and hopelessness”.

One woman “described being sexually assaulted at gunpoint by a Hamas terrorist. On several occasions, captors forced women of all ages to undress while others, including the captors, watched.

"Some women reported that the captors sexually assaulted them. In addition, some women reported that they were tied to beds while their captors stared at them.”

Men endured “continuous starvation, beatings, burns with galvanised iron (branding), hair-pulling, confinement in closed rooms with a limited amount of food and water, being held in isolation with hands and feet tied, and being denied access to the bathroom, which forced them to defecate on themselves.”

Documenting the impact of their experiences in Gaza, the report said that some returnees had “paranoid anxieties, fearing retaliation against their loved ones still in captivity if they spoke about their experiences.” The inability to share their trauma made it harder for them to process it.